1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of conical piccolos and especially of an improved conical piccolo that simplifies the fingering required by a user to play the third octave G to A trill.
2. Description of the Related Art
Almost all modern orchestras and symphonic bands use conical piccolos. Some piccolo players do use the cylindrical piccolos, especially in marching bands, but in orchestras their use is rare.
Conical piccolos, like cylindrical piccolos and flutes, can produce a sound known as trilling. The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines trilling as a musical ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a given note with a diatonic second above it. (Harvard Dictionary of Music, (1972), 2nd Edition, Willi Apel, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.). One limitation of the conical piccolo is the difficult and awkward fingering required to create an accurate and in-tune trill between the notes of G and A of the third, or highest, octave (the G/A trill). In the art, fingering is a term meaning a methodical pattern of usage of the fingers in playing an instrument. (Harvard Dictionary of Music, (1972), 2nd Edition, Willi Apel, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.).
Conical piccolo fingering guides list multiple fingerings for the G/A trill, but all of them are difficult to implement. For example, Williams lists eight possible fingerings for the G/A trill on the conical piccolo. (Williams, Morgan, (December 1997), “Piccolo Trill Fingerings,” Flute Talk, pp. 31-32). Williams describes these eight fingerings as either awkward, difficult to play, or requiring a user to push in the head joint which means the user must stop playing and adjust the spacing between the head joint and body of the conical piccolo. By using this last method, a user would have to: 1) stop playing the piccolo; 2) adjust the spacing; 3) play the G/A trill; 4) readjust the spacing; and 5) resume playing the piccolo.
Due to the nature of the acoustic difference between the cylindrical flute or cylindrical piccolo and the conical piccolo the third octave G/A trill becomes mechanically problematic. To produce the correct venting for the third octave A note in the G/A trill requires a very awkward fingering wherein the first finger of the left hand goes up, the fourth finger of the left hand goes down and the first finger of the right hand goes down simultaneously and in rapid succession.
Many fingerings of the conical piccolo can be played by adapting the fingerings used on a cylindrical flute. The G/A trill can be played easily on the cylindrical flute. The standard flute fingering for the third octave G/A trill works very well. However, this preferred flute fingering is not even listed in conical piccolo fingering guides because it does not work. While most of the fingerings used on the cylindrical bore flute work well on the conical piccolo, the fingering for the third octave G/A trill does not work.
On the cylindrical flute the third octave G/A trill is made easier for a user by the use of a special key, called the C sharp trill key, which consists of an additional tone hole opening and key. This C sharp trill key simplifies at least six trills on the flute by allowing a user to switch several left hand movements to the right hand. These six trills or standard trills are the first and second octave B to C sharp, the first and second octave C to C sharp, the third octave F sharp to G sharp, the third octave G to A flat, the third octave A flat to B flat and the third octave G to A. One of the trills simplified by this key is the third octave G/A trill. This C sharp trill key provides simpler fingering, improved tone quality, improved tuning of the pitches of the individual notes in the trills, and more dynamic range to the user. The C sharp trill key was patented in France in 1909 by Mme. Cornelie Villedieu Laube. (French patent No. 409, 922).
Adapting the C sharp trill key found on cylindrical flutes to the conical piccolo allows a user to easily play five of the six main trills on the conical piccolo but it does not allow a user to produce the third octave G/A trill. Thus, even with the addition of a C sharp trill key to the conical piccolo, a user must still use an awkward or difficult fingering to produce the third octave G/A trill.
Instead of using the C sharp trill key found on the flute, a few obscure conical piccolos and some, but more commonly, cylindrical flutes have been manufactured with a slightly different trill mechanism, usually called the G-A trill key. This trill key consists of two small tone hole openings: a C sharp tone hole opening and an A tone hole opening controlled by one key. However, the G-A trill key on the conical piccolo produces a third octave G/A trill that is unresponsive and can only be played at the loudest volumes possible and even then, it is very difficult for a user to sustain the sound. This G-A trill key on the conical bore piccolo does not produce a satisfactory third octave G/A trill on the conical piccolo and it is not an option offered by virtually any modern piccolo makers. This G-A trill key is also quite obscure on older conical piccolos.
In summary, the standard cylindrical flute fingering for the G/A trill is effective on the flute but is entirely ineffective on the conical piccolo. In addition, the C sharp trill key allows a user to easily play six main trills, including the G/A trill on a cylindrical flute, but a similar mechanism on a conical piccolo does not allow a user to produce a satisfactory G/A trill. Finally, on rare occasions, a G-A trill key is added to the conical piccolo and only works when played at the loudest volume possible and is therefore unsuitable for orchestral work which requires a versatile range of volume. Thus, no good solution to the problem of playing the third octave G/A trill on the conical piccolo existed before the subject invention.
Allowing users of conical piccolos to easily play the G/A trill is desired since this trill is regularly found in the orchestral repertoire. Several examples of pieces that employ this G/A trill include The Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky, Symphonic Metamorphosis by Hindemith and Cakewalk Suite by Gottschalk.
The subject invention provides two improvements to currently existing conical piccolos. First, the subject invention provides an improved conical piccolo that allows a user to simply play the G/A trill. Second, this invention provides an improved conical piccolo with a C sharp trill mechanism that allows the user of the piccolo to easily play all six standard trills, including the G/A trill.